H2020Индивидуална стипендия2018–2020

RNASTIP · RNA Sprays as a Tool for Crop Improvement and Protection

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2018-09-01 → 2020-08-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 164 653 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF-EF-ST

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Спрейове с РНК се тестват върху домати, за да се защитят растенията от вируси и гъбички без използване на ГМО или токсични химикали. Това помага за търсенето на по-екологични методи за защита на посевите и осигуряване на хранителните ресурси.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

RNA Sprays as a Tool for Crop Improvement and Protection

With the increasing world population, reduced farmland and demand for heightened global food security, comes the need for new sustainable, effective and environmentally friendly agricultural solutions. The extensive use of toxic agrochemicals has been rendered obsolete, whereas the employment of transgenic plants and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has raised considerable public and scientific concerns. Accordingly, this project aimed to develop novel RNA-based toxic-free and GMO-free tools to modify and protect crops. More specifically, in the framework of RNASTIP (i) single stranded RNAs (ssRNAs) that would serve as micro RNA decoys (Short Tandem Target Mimic, STTM) and would thus trigger the RNA activation (RNAa) pathway and (ii) double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) that would trigger the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway were generated and exogenously applied in tomato plants. Concerning RNAa, our conclusions suggest that application of STTM RNAs in tomato plants is troubleshooting, since STTM RNAs are sensed by the plant cell as potentially dangerous aberrant transcripts and are thus channeled to RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RDR)-mediated degradation pathway. Concerning RNAi, our conclusions suggest that application of dsRNA in tomato plants confers limited resistance to selected viruses and viroids, due to the inefficient delivery of dsRNAs inside the plant cell and the high replication rate of these pathogens. In contrast, dsRNA delivery and RNAi induction in a soil-borne fungal endophyte was very efficient, since fungal cells lack the rigid cell walls that plant cells contain. In the future, we suggest that optimization such approaches should include the use of elements such as 3’ polyadenylation tails that inhibit RDR-mediated degradation of STTM RNAs (RNAa approaches) and nanoparticles such as carbon dots that increase the efficiency of dsRNA delivery inside the plant cell (RNAi approches).

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

With the increasing world population, reduced farmland and demand for heightened global food security, comes the need for new sustainable, effective and environmentally friendly agricultural solutions. The extensive use of toxic agrochemicals has been rendered obsolete, whereas the employment of transgenic plants and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has raised considerable public and scientific concerns. The current proposal aims to develop GMO-free tools to modify and protect crops based solely on RNA sprays. The candidate has recently developed a simple, cheap and efficient method for RNA delivery into plant cells by high pressure spraying. Using this method, we now aim to develop RNA sprays to selectively downregulate (RNA interference, RNAi) and upregulate (RNA activation, RNAa) genes involved in crop protection and improvement. In the current proposal, we will focus on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), one of the most important dicot vegetable crops worldwide. On the one hand, through RNAi sprays, we will aim to combat some of tomato's most important and diverse pests by inactivating crucial for their development genes. On the other hand, through RNAa sprays, we will try to activate selected tomato genes by decoying and sequestering their micro RNA (miRNA) regulators. Methods for optimizing the stability of sprayed RNAs into plant cells for field condition applications by conjugating them to carrier compounds will be tested. The multidisciplinary nature of the project is strong, involving a combination of molecular biology, microbiology, plant biology, virology, mycology, entomology and biochemistry. This proposal includes the transfer of knowledge to the host institute and the training of the candidate. Expected results will point towards a new direction of GMO-free plant breeding tools, in line with the EU strategy for sustainable agriculture.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

PANEPISTIMIO THESSALIAS · VOLOSКоординаторГърция